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Paula’s Wines of the Week starting 6th November 2017

A staple of many local shopping parades, the Nisa (pronounded Nice-a) store is easy to over look as just another always-open store that’s useful for getting in tomorrow’s breakfast milk. But wander around to the drinks section and you’ll find five great value wines all labelled as the Nisa Heritage range.

Part of a wider selection of food and drink branded products available to Nisa’s independent shop keepers, the wine addition to the Heritage range happened early this year and expands the current small own-label drink selection including the Banoch Brae whisky, Kommissar vodka and London Silk gin.

Consisting of five Chilean wines – two whites, two reds and a rosé – the Heritage wine range standard price of £4.99 a bottle offers great value for what are pretty good wines. But factor in an additional £1 off during offer periods (look out nearer Christmas) and this great value looks exceptional.

The best of the range is the Shiraz with its plum and blackberry flavours, followed closely by the Chardonnay with flavours of pear and peach. The slightly sweet chocolate and cherry tasting Merlot passes muster, while the rosé’s vague strawberriness is rather innocuous but quaffable as a pre-dinner aperitif. There is also a Sauvignon Blanc in the range but this wasn’t available to this wine journo at write-up but expect light melon and gooseberry flavours.

If you do manage to get along to your nearest Nisa to pick up a bottle then ponder whether this interesting range will be expanded with Co-op branded products in the coming months following next Monday’s vote by Nisa shop-owning members on whether to accept the Co-op’s takeover bid of £143 million. Part of the deal assures the continuation of the Nisa name but with the opportunity to tap into Co-op brands.

And as the Co-op wine range is really rather good and well thought out at the £5 price point then it does question the future viability of the Heritage wine range.